As It Seems
by AmandaL
Summary: Elliot is single, but Olivia isn't... will they start a realtionship?
1. The Detectives

Title: As It Seems (1?)

Author: Amanda

Genres: Alternate Universe, Angst, Romance

Rating: PG to PG-13

Disclaimer: I know this isn't how it is on the show. This takes place in a world created by me. Oh and the charters aren't mine.

Elliot has been in SVU for eight years. He and Kathy were married, however they only have Maureen who is thirteen years old. They divorced after nine years of marriage. Kathy has sole custody of Maureen, but Elliot gets visitation every other weekend and some holidays.

Olivia has been an SVU detective for seven years. She dated Michael for seven years and they were engaged for a year, Olivia broke it off.. She has a daughter with him named Marissa who is five. Elliot is her godfather. Olivia is currently dating Aaron for a year and a half.

It was a rainy morning as Olivia Benson trudged toward the precinct. They were working a really tough case, and she had barely had any sleep the night before because Marissa had insisted on telling her about her day at kindergarten. When Olivia arrived at the station, Munch and Fin were already sitting at their desks.

" Hey Olivia," John greeted her.

"Hey Fin. Hey John" she responded. "Where's my partner?" she questioned.

"Right here" Elliot said. Olivia turned around to see him walking toward their set of desks.

"You're ten minutes late" she stated.

"Sorry, Liv. There was a lot of traffic" he offered.

"Benson. Stabler. We got another vic. Behind Jimmy Choo's restaurant. Warner is on her way there" Captain Cragen told them.

"Ok, we're on it Cap" Elliot said. He hadn't removed his coat yet, but he grabbed Olivia's coat off the back of her chair and tossed it to her as they headed out of the squad room.

"So Liv, how are things with you and Aaron" he asked, trying to make up for being late.

"Things are great. Tomorrow will be a year and a half" she said.

"That's good. Got anything special planned"

"Aaron's planning the whole night. All I have to do is make sure I can get off work,"she answered him.

"I'm sure me and Cragen can handle things for one night" Elliot said to her.

"Thanks El. That means a lot to me" she said.

"No problem Liv" he answered. Just then they pulled up to the crime scene.

"What do we got" Elliot asked Warner

"Severe bruising to the thighs and rope marks on the neck. She was found in a T-shirt and panties. No identification found" the ME informed the detectives.

"Any fluids present" Olivia asked.

"Perp used a condom. We'll know more after the autopsy" she answered.

"Thanks Doc" Elliot said.

The two detectives walked over to Mark, one of the CSU investigators they had worked with a few times before.

"We got anything yet" Olivia questioned.

"We found a purse a few feet away from her. Money was gone. No credit cards. We're thinking robbery along with the sexual assault. "

"Okay. Thanks." They turned and headed back toward the car.

"Hey Liv, did you ask Cragen about tomorrow" Elliot asked on the drive back to the precinct.

Olivia sighed"No, not yet. We've been so busy."

"Ask him after the information session. I'll back you up if you need me to."

"Thanks El, you're a great friend" she said. Olivia knew she was lucky to have a friend like Elliot. He had stuck by her through everything, and was great with Marissa.

"You're welcome. I am a great friend though, aren't I" he teased.

They pulled up to the precinct soon after. When they got into the squadroom Cragen was the only one there.

"Where's Munch and Fin" Elliot asked Cragen

"Warner called. I just sent them to go see what she found" Cragen answered.

"Oh, okay. Well, can I talk to you for a minute then, Cap" Olivia said.

"Sure Olivia" Cragen said. He headed towards his office so they could talk in private.

"What is it" Cragen asked.

"Well, I know this is short notice, but can I get tomorrow night off? It's mine and Aaron's anniversary," she asked him.

"As long as nothing extremely important develops, then yes, you can have it off" he answered.

"Thanks Cap." She turned and left his office.

When Olivia got back to her desk she noticed her partner was nowhere to be seen. She sat down to do some paperwork. When he was still gone after ten minutes she went off to look for him. She was headed up the stairs towards the crib when she heard Elliot yelling. She went up there to see what was going on.

"Damn it, Kathy. Why are you being so stubborn about this? We are working a really tough case. Can't I switch weekends" Elliot was yelling into the phone. Olivia assumed he was arguing about Maureen again. She didn't know how Elliot had stayed married to Kathy for so long. Olivia had met Kathy a few times and didn't know her that well. She did know Kathy had accused Elliot of sleeping with Olivia at least once. It was after the first time Olivia had met Kathy. As she started to head back downstairs to give Elliot some privacy she heard his voice calling after her.

"Liv, don't go. I need to talk to someone" Elliot said.

"I figured you would want to blow off some steam alone before you talked" Olivia said. She headed toward the couch to sit beside him. She was used to comforting Elliot after his arguments with Kathy.

"All I wanted was to switch weekends. She's being so unreasonable about it. If I take Maureen this weekend I won't get a chance to spend any time with her" he said. His anger was still obvious, but it was slowly draining as he talked to Olivia.

"I'll make you a deal, El. We don't get any new leads or anything important, and I'll cover Saturday."

"Thanks Liv. I appreciate it. Maureen is not the only problem though" he said.

"Well, what is it, El. You know you can tell me anything." Olivia told him in the same tone she used with victims.

"Kathy's engaged. I've never even heard of the guy until two days ago. Now she wants him to be a permanent fixture in my daughter's life. What the hell is her problem" Elliot's anger was rising again.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe she'd do something like that. Aren't you seeing someone, though" she responded.

"No, we broke up over the weekend. She wanted a commitment that I wasn't ready to give her" he told her.

"Oh I'm sorry. Are you okay? I know it's hard to commit to someone" she said.

"What do you mean, you know about how hard it is to commit" Elliot questioned. "You've been with Aaron for a year and a half."

"I know. It's just I'm not sure he's the one. I love him, but that's not always everything" she answered.

They heard the Captain call for them downstairs. Olivia gave Elliot's hand a reassuring squeeze and they headed downstairs.

"We have a missing person hit. College roommate reported her missing. She's at NYU's campus. Go check it out" Cragen said.

"How's my god-daughter" Elliot asked as they were driving over to the college.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to asking about her. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten her."

"I've just been busy. You know I love her" he laughed.

"She's fine. She knows how to write her name along with yours and mine. She does miss her you though" she said.

"That's great. I'll come by and see her soon, I miss her too." Elliot said. The rest of the ride to the NYU campus was silent.

TBC


	2. The Roomate

Title : As It Seems

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: They aren't mine, though they would make a nice present.

Author's note: Remember this is Alternate Universe.

* * *

Elliot knocked on the door of the dorm room. A pretty young blonde girl answered the door. She reminded Elliot a lot of Kathy when she was younger. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. He flashed his badge.

"I'm Detective Stabler. This is my partner Detective Benson," he said.

"Oh you must be here about Lisa," she said flashing Elliot a sexy smile. "Come in." She opened the door wide enough for the detectives to step through.

"We were told that you reported her missing," Olivia said in an annoyed voice. She didn't know why but, she felt defensive when it came to Elliot. She had seen that smile an it had pissed her off. She should be used to it by now though.

"Yeah she was supposed to be going to her boyfriends house ,but when she didn't show he called here. After that I called the cops they said I had to wait forty-eight hours, though," she answered.

"Ok, anything else?" Olivia asked as she wrote in her notebook.

"Like what?" the girl asked sounding confused.

"What she was wearing? The boyfriend's address? His name?" Olivia asked.

"Well she had on a black shirt and this really cute white micro-mini oh and some clear stilettoes and a bunch of rings. Her boyfriends name is Ben Lakemoore as in Lakemoore Paper Company. I'm not sure of his exact address, but he lives over by Jimmy Choo's restaurant," she answered.

Elliot picked up a photo off one of the desks in the room. "Is this Lisa?" he asked.

"Yeah that's her," she said.

Elliot turned the picture towards Olivia and raised his eyebrows as if to say 'we found our victim'.

"Well thank you. We'll be in touch." She and Elliot turned and opened the dorm room door and left.

"Ready to go check out the boyfriend?" Elliot turned and asked Olivia.

"Nah let's have Munch and Fin talk to him and we can go get some food," Olivia answered.

They drove to a deli that wasn't far from the precinct after talking to Fin.

"What do you got planned for you and Maureen on Saturday?" Olivia asked Elliot as they were walking into the deli.

"Hell I don't know. I rarely spend anytime with her. What do most thirteen year old girls like?" he asked her.

"Well," she said a teasing smile played across her lips, "most thirteen year old girls like thirteen year old boys."

"Haha Liv. Don't even start saying that," he said.

"I am just teasing you, El. Relax, I'm sure Maureen isn't even interested in boys yet. But seriously though you can rent movies with her and take her shopping or miniature golfing."

"Thanks Liv. I really do appreciate you covering me on Saturday," Elliot said.

"Anytime Elliot," she told him. "We better head back to the station."

"Yeah let's go," he replied and they got up and paid the bill and left the deli.

"Have you asked Maureen how he feels about Kathy's engagement?" Olivia asked him on the ride back to the station.

"No I haven't had a chance. I figured we could talk about it this weekend," Elliot answered.

"That sounds like a good plan to me. Do you know if Kathy aked Maureen what she thought before agreeing to the marriage?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. She can be really selfish at times," he answered.

"I don't think I'd ever get married without asking the two people's who's opinions matter the most to me," Olivia expressed.

"Really, and that would be whose?" Elliot asked her.

"Marissa's and your's," she replied.

TBC


	3. Thoughts and Rejection

As It Seems

Chapter 3

A/N: Much thanks to my beta.

* * *

Olivia was applying the finishing touches to her makeup when Marissa came bounding into the bathroom. 

"Mommy, can I go with you and Aaron tonight?" she asked Olivia.

"No sweetie not tonight," Olivia answered.

"Why?" Marissa whined.

Before Olivia could answer, the buzzer rang. Olivia walked out of the bathroom to answer it. Marissa was right behind her. After finding out that it was the babysitter and buzzing her in, Olivia went to check her reflection one more time. She heard a knock at the door and Marissa asking who it was. She smiled at the fact that Marissa had remembered; she and Elliot had been drilling into her young mind since she had learned to talk.

"Wow. You look great Miss Benson," Cindy, Marissa's babysitter for in the evenings complimented her. Olivia looked down at her outfit, an emerald green dress with a pair of strappy heels to match.

"Thanks," she said smiling, "and I've told you call me Olivia."

* * *

The buzzer rang a few minutes later and Olivia let Aaron know that she'd be down in a second. She gave Marissa a kiss on the forehead and headed out for what she thought would be a great date. 

Aaron's jaw dropped when he saw her. "Wow, you look gorgeous Olivia," he said. Olivia smiled at his reaction.

"So where are we going?" she asked as they headed toward his car.

"Dolce, over on 21st and Washington," he answered.

"It takes forever to get a reservation there," she said clearly impressed with his thoughtfulness.

"I made the reservations last month," he replied.

They arrived at Dolce a few minutes later. Aaron handed the valet the keys and they headed into the restaurant. After being seated and placing their orders for drinks, Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet jewelry box. _Oh my God, he's gonna propose. _She didn't have time to think anything else. The next thing she knew Aaron was on bended knee in front of her.

"Olivia I love you so much. We've been together for a year and a half and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"I'm sorry Aaron . . . I can't," she stood and left the restaurant. She quickly hailed a cab. She heard Aaron yelling her name as the cab drove away. A few seconds later her cell phone rang; she glanced at the caller ID and saw Aaron's name on the screen. She wasn't ready to be bombarded with questions, well one question in particular, why did she say no. Olivia wasn't sure of that answer herself, so she turned her phone to silent. The cab pulled up to her building thirty minutes later in that time Aaron had called ten times.

* * *

"That'll be eighteen dollars," the cabbie said. 

"Can you take me to O'Malley's on 16th and Orange instead?" she asked him. She knew it would look strange for her to come in so early from her date.

"Sure lady, it's your money," the cabbie replied.

"Thanks," she said and laid her head against the seat to think.

"Hey lady, we're at that bar." Olivia heard the cabbie say a little later.

"Oh thanks. How much do I owe?" she questioned.

"Thirty-five," he answered.

Olivia handed him two twenties and got out. "Keep the change," she yelled over her shoulder.

* * *

Upon entering the bar Olivia felt several eyes on her. _Damn. I'm a little overdressed for this place. _She headed toward the bar trying to ignore the lewd comments being made as she passed. When the bartender came over Olivia ordered a vodka neat. Twenty minutes later Olivia was finishing her fourth drink when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

"Damn it, Aaron. How did you find me?" Olivia fumed. They had came outside for some privacy. She was pissed, not surprised though. She should've known he would track her down.

"It doesn't matter how I found you. Why the hell did you run out of the restaurant?" Aaron asked her.

"So I wouldn't have to talk to you. I wasn't ready to have to give you a reason for saying no," she screamed.

"And are you ready now?" he asked calmly.

"Ok, you want to do this now fine," she said. "I said no because I don't want to get married to you. I was happy with what we had. I've done the whole being engaged thing and it went terrible." Her speech was slurred, but other than that it was hard to tell Olivia had been drinking.

"Olivia I'm not Michael. I would never hurt you."

"That's not the point. I don't want to get married. I am fine being in a committed relationship," she said quietly.

"Well I'm not," he responded.

"So what? Are you saying you want to end it?"

"I guess I am," he said sadly.

"Well I guess all I can say is goodbye." Olivia turned and headed up the street toward her apartment building.

"Olivia, wait," he called out.

She kept walking as tears burned her eyes. She refused to let them fall, though. As she neared her apartment building she pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. She pasted a fake smile to her face as she exited the elevator and headed for her door.

"Hi, Miss Benson. How was your evening?" Cindy asked her.

"Oh, it was great, but I'm kinda tired. Is Marissa asleep?" she asked, trying to appear as if nothing was wrong.

"Yeah, she went to bed about nine."

"Thanks, Cindy. Here's the money I owe you for tonight," Olivia said and handed her a fifty.

"Goodnight, Miss Benson."

"Night Cindy." Olivia locked the door behind the girl and went to change into her pajamas after checking in on her daughter.

* * *

The next morning Olivia was awoken by the feeling of her daughter jumping into the bed with her. Olivia rubbed her eyes and sat up, only to see Marissa sitting there watching her. 

"Hi mommy," Marissa said happily.

"Hey sweetie. What are you doing up so early?" Olivia asked glancing at the clock. It was six-thirty in the morning.

"I want to go to Ariel's," Marissa answered, referring to her baby-sitter's daughter.

"Okay. Go play for a few minutes while I get ready," Olivia told her. Marissa got off the bed and headed out of Olivia's bedroom toward her own.

Thirty minutes later Marissa and Olivia were on their way out the door. It was only a twenty minute walk to Nicole, Marissa's babysitter's house. Once Olivia had dropped Marissa off she headed for the station.

Unfortunately, they had not discovered any new leads on the perp. The day had been long and uneventful. Olivia glanced at her watch, seven o clock, it's quittin' time. Olivia called Nicole to see if it was okay if she left Marissa over there with Ariel. Right now all she wanted was a night alone. Nicole said it'd be fine so Olivia headed for home.

Once she was home Olivia kicked her shoes off and locked the door. She went into the bathroom and filled the tub with a lavender bubble bath, so she could relax. She turned on the stereo that was in the bathroom, Olivia undressed and stepped into the tub. She laid her head back against the wall, closed her eyes, letting the words of the song fill her mind. As she listened to the song on the radio her thoughts drifted to Elliot. She could feel his lips pressed to hers in a heated kiss, his kiss filled with the same emotion he displayed with each case they worked. She could feel his hands all over body. Suddenly from the radio came the DJ's loud, booming voice, jarring her from her thoughts. _Oh my God. I can't believe I was just thinking about Elliot in that way. _When she had first arrived to SVU she had had these thoughts of Elliot, but she had been with Michael and Elliot had been recently divorced. Olivia got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her, and went into her bedroom to put on her pajamas. Once dressed, Olivia climbed into bed.


	4. Confessions

As It Seems

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: They aren't mine.

* * *

Sunday morning came too soon for Olivia. The case and her breakup with Aaron were making her exhausted. She got up and put on a pot of coffee. While she was waiting Marissa stumbled out of her room. Olivia made Marissa a bowl of cereal and then went to take a shower. A few hours later she was watching Miss Congeniality on TV. She had seen the movie a dozen times, but she loved it. Marissa was playing with her dolls on the living room floor. There was a knock at the door, she wasn't expecting anyone so her first thought was that it was Aaron.

"Just a second," she called out.

"Mommy, can I get it?" Marissa asked.

"Yes, but don't forget the rule," Olivia answered.

Marissa ran toward the door. " Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Elliot."

Marissa threw the door open excitedly. " Elly," she said throwing her arms around his legs.

"Hey princess," he said picking her up.

Marissa noticed Maureen was standing behind Elliot. "Reeny," she said happily.

"Hey 'Riss," Maureen said.

"Wanna go play?" Marissa asked as she wiggled out of Elliot's arms.

"Sure let's go," Maureen said. She took Marissa's hand and Marissa led her down the hall to the playroom. Marissa called over her shoulder to Elliot, " you and Mommy can play in the living room."

Elliot looked at Olivia. "You heard her, let's go play in the living room."

Olivia laughed, playing along with him she asked, "What game did you have in mind Mr. Stabler?"

"Well I was thinking doctor would be fun," he said.

Olivia laughed, but she was wishing he was serious.

"I don't think Aaron would like that though," Elliot said. He noticed the expression on Olivia's face grew dark at the mention of Aaron. " What's wrong?" he asked, ending the joke.

Olivia fought back tears as she replied, "Aaron and I, well, we broke up."

"Oh Liv, I'm sorry. What happened?" he asked, taking her hand.

"He proposed. Well actually, he proposed and I said no," she answered.

"So he broke it off because you aren't ready for marriage," Elliot surmised.

" Elliot I am thirty eight years old. I'm ready for marriage. I just don't think Aaron was right for me," she told him.

" Does Marissa know?" he asked.

"I don't know how to tell her," she answered.

"Want me to help out? I had to do it with Maureen," he offered.

"I would love it if you were with me," she said.

"Do you want to do it now?" he asked.

Olivia didn't get a chance to answer before a knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

"Expecting company?" Elliot asked.

"No," Olivia answered as she went to get the door.

When she opened the door she was less than thrilled to see who was on the other side.

"Aaron, what do you want?" Olivia asked.

"I'm here to get you back," he slurred.

'_Oh great just what I need'_ she thought. "I'm kinda busy Aaron. Why don't you come back later?" she said trying to close the door.

* * *

Aaron pushed his way past her into the apartment. He spotted Elliot sitting on Olivia's couch immediately. "I should've known you'd be shacked up with this bastard," Aaron said. He stalked toward Elliot with his hand balled into a fist.

"Olivia and I were just talking. Not that its any of your business anymore," Elliot said, standing up.

Aaron swung his fist and Olivia heard it connect with Elliot's jaw. " You can have the bitch; she's just good for a few blowjobs."

Elliot knocked Aaron out after that comment. Marissa and Maureen had heard all the noise so they came out of the playroom.

"Daddy! What happened?" Maureen shrieked.

"Oh its nothing. Everything is fine," Elliot said.

"No its not. You got a bruise on your face and Olivia's boyfriend is out cold on her floor," Maureen stated.

"Maureen, will you please take Marissa to the playground? Your father and I will explain all of this later," Olivia asked.

"Ok. Fine," Maureen agreed grudgingly." Come on Marissa let's go." Maureen led Marissa out the door.

"Bye Mommy. Bye Elly," Marissa called.

"Bye sweetie," Olivia replied.

Once Elliot and Olivia were alone, Olivia let the tears flow freely. She sat down on the couch and dropped her head into her hands. She felt Elliot sit down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. Olivia buried her face in his chest and he rubbed her back soothingly.

As Aaron started to come to Elliot stood up and dragged Aaron to his feet. "I'll make you a deal. I won't arrest you for assault if you leave and never bother Liv or Marissa again."

"Fine," Aaron said. Elliot pushed him out the door and went back to his spot beside Olivia.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"I just don't get it. He was so different and sweet while we dated," she said.

"So he never hit you? Not even if he was drinking?" Elliot asked.

"No. Well once he pushed me, but we had both been drinking," she admitted.

"Liv, why did you stay? We deal with victims of domestic violence on a daily basis," he said.

"I know Elliot. That's why I never told anyone. We had been together for awhile and he was drunk, so I let it go. There was just that once," Olivia said. Elliot could see her eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

"Liv, I'm sorry that I pressured you to talk, but I'm glad you told me," he said taking her hands.

"El, what would I do without you?" Olivia asked.

"Well you will never know the answer to that because I'll always be here for you," he assured her. Olivia laid her head on his shoulder and Elliot wrapped his arms around her. They stayed that way until the girls arrived back.

"Dad! Liv! We're back," Maureen called out.

"In here," Olivia called back.

"Mommy! Elly! Guess what," Marissa said without waiting for a reply she continued, "Me and Reeny went down the slide and Reeny pushed me on the swings."

"Wow. That sounds fun," Olivia said, smiling at her daughter.

"Hey Riss, why don't you go get out the stuff to color and I'll come play in a minute," Maureen suggested. Once Marissa was out of ear shot Maureen started with the questions. "Okay what happened earlier,"

"Well the guy was my ex," Olivia said. " And is he was drunk and sucker punched your dad. Your father hit him after Aaron made a rude comment about me. It's all over though."

Marissa came out and got Maureen to come color with her. Once they were gone Elliot decided to find out more about Aaron's rages.

"Liv, when you and Aaron got into that disagreement, was Marissa around?" he asked.

"No. Thank God she was with Michael," she told him.

"That's the only time?" Elliot asked.

"Yea it was," she said.

"What was it about?" Elliot asked softly.

"Oh that's not important," she said.

"Yes it is," Elliot insisted.

"It was because of you," she whispered.

"What? Why?" Elliot asked stunned.

"He thought we were sleeping together," she said quietly.

"You would never do that," Elliot exclaimed. "Why would he think that?"

* * *

"I don't know," Olivia lied. She remembered every moment of that night. _She and Aaron had went to an engagement party and had some drinks. Aaron had dropped her off. When she had got in she lit some candles and went to take a bubble bath. When she got out of the tub, instead of dressing she slid into her satin sheets naked. She picked up the picture of her and Elliot at a Christmas party. Before she even realized what she was doing her hand was sliding down her body. She slid one finger inside herself and began stroking her clit with her thumb. Closing her eyes she imagined it was Elliot's hands on her. Just as she reached her climax she called out Elliot's name. Her bedroom door burst open and Aaron came in screaming at her._

"_I knew you and that bastard were fucking."_

"_No we're not and don't you dare call him a bastard," Olivia said rising to her feet._

"_Don't you ever lie to me again you whore!"Aaron screamed. He shoved her and she fell back hitting her head on her night stand._

"_Get out! Get the fuck out now!_"

_Suddenly Aaron had been at her side apologizing._

"Liv. Earth to Liv." Elliot's voice jarred her from her thoughts.

"Oh sorry El,. I was just thinking. What were you saying?" she asked.

"I was saying that after being your partner for seven years, I know when you're lying, which you are. What is the reason?"

"I can't. It's stupid," she said.

"You can tell me anything," he said.

Olivia let out a sigh. "Fine. I masturbated and orgasmed to your picture. Are you happy now?" she asked.

"Oh. Wow," he said

**TBC.**


End file.
